An Insight into Moneyworks Wales

Helping Your Staff Build Financial Resilience In The Workplace

My name is Sandy Highfield and I work for Moneyworks Wales an awardwinning ethical payroll savings scheme supported by Welsh Government.

When my son fell victim to high-interest lending after using various payday lenders, I realized there was a lack of understanding around APRs and fees for payday loans in the workplace.

After a life-changing accident and losing the ability to repay the money he owed, I realised how mercenary and cold debt collectors can be when trying to reclaim money owed. Employers do not always understand how wrong decisions around finance and debt can affect staff, particularly their mental health.

Debt is something people are ashamed of and rarely discuss. Pay, particularly in the public sector, has reduced in real terms and incomes are falling. Debt is continuing to rise and, for the first time ever in Wales, half the requests for support from Citizens Advice Cymru in 2023 were from those in a negative budgeting situation where household bills outstrip income.

*This is having worsening impacts on people’s health and wellbeing. Research from the Bevan Foundation shows that over half of the people in Wales reported that their mental health was affected by their financial position, with a third saying the rising costs of living were causing them substantial stress and anxiety.

Moneyworks Wales is an award-winning payroll service for employers and employees offering savings and lowinterest loans to staff in the workplace. As ethical, financial cooperatives, we are pulling together our resources to try to improve the financial well-being of Welsh workers with Moneyworks being the umbrella organisation for Wales’s leading cooperatives.

“Moneyworks Wales is a collaboration between the country’s leading financial cooperatives. We are a group of credit unions committed to improving the financial well-being of Welsh workers.” Some organisations have a culture of payday lending within their workplace as staff are not always aware of any alternatives.

Encouraging employees to improve their financial well-being through Moneyworks, and providing the means to do so, can positively impact the business itself and discourage staff from making wrong decisions around finance. One of our main aims is to highlight the difference between good and bad credit and the importance of creating good savings habits.

The CIPD found that one in four workers said that money worries had affected their ability to do their jobs.

Businesses can benefit by playing a role in encouraging their employees to prioritise their financial wellness and to understand the difference between good and bad credit.

Moneyworks works collaboratively with organisations across Wales, such as the Money Advice and Pensions Service, to help improve financial resilience in the workplace.

As ethical lenders, we can offer your staff the opportunity to borrow and save directly from their salary which enables them to access fair-priced loans and actively encourages them to save directly from their salary before it hits the bank account. As ethical lenders, Moneyworks has your staff’s financial well-being at the centre of the Free Service we offer.

When you contact Moneyworks Wales, we will guide you through the process of setting up a payroll scheme and provide you with all the information you need to embed it in your staff wellbeing package. Along with free leaflets and posters to promote the scheme in the workplace, all we ask for you to do is supply us with a Moneyworks mentor who would be responsible for ensuring the scheme was promoted and would signpost to our website.

Whether you want your staff want to put aside money for a special occasion, start a rainy-day fund or need a loan, we are here to help. Payments come directly from staff’s salary meaning they never miss a payment which is good for people with bad money management. We actively encourage members to save whilst paying back their loans to ensure good financial habits. Please visit www.moneyworkswales.com for more information.